Why was the Republic born?

The first territorial loss for the Ottoman Empire occurred during the reign of Mustafa II with the Treaty of Karlowitz. Mustafa II believed, driven by personal ambition, that he would conquer Europe and frequently went on campaigns. But he lost in his final campaign.

The period of decline had begun.

Although initial success was achieved during the reign of Ahmed III with the Pruth River Campaign, this success did not last long. Ahmed III was deposed in a palace coup. The Janissaries had placed him on the throne, and the Janissaries removed him. Authority and power lay with the Janissaries.

Mahmud I succeeded him. But he, too, lived in the shadow of the Janissaries. It was as if the Janissaries, not Mahmud I, were the Sultan. Power and sovereignty belonged to the Janissaries.

Meanwhile, the era of princes living in cages had begun.

Then Osman III ascended the throne, but his life, too, had been spent in cages. He lived for exactly 51 years in the "Şimşirlik" (Boxwood) Chamber. The Şimşirlik Chamber was a form of house arrest in the shadow of the guards. It was a cage.

Life in cages was famous in the Ottoman Empire. Sultans feared that their brothers would meet with the people and depose them. Therefore, the princes who would govern the country in the future were locked in cages.

For example, Mustafa III. He lived a cage life for 27 years.

Abdul Hamid I, for instance, spent his childhood and youth in a cage, under house arrest, along with his brothers.

Selim III also lived a cage (room arrest) life. He ascended the throne, but the Janissary Corps, which shared power and sovereignty like the Sword of Damocles, stood over him. He established the Nizam-ı Cedid (New Order) Army against the Janissary Corps. However, he was unsuccessful. He was deposed in a rebellion and sent back to the cage.

During the reign of Mustafa IV, many of the administrators killed one another. Rebellions erupted. The state entered a period of collapse. Princes were kidnapped, sultans were deposed, and pashas who rebelled with a few divisions marched on the palace in Istanbul.

The state was practically being trampled underfoot. As rebellions occurred, the sultans and princes trembled in their cages. Because when a rebellion broke out, it was unclear who would be strangled and who would be killed.

For this reason, the princes grew up insecure and psychologically damaged, filled with fear and anxiety.

And then they went on to govern the country.

For example, Mahmud II spent days filled with fear during the 14-month reign of his brother, Sultan Mustafa IV. When Alemdar Mustafa Pasha arrived at Topkapı Palace with an army of 15,000, Sultan Mustafa IV and Selim III were killed.

The young prince Mahmud II was barely smuggled out by servants, and his life was saved. And then he was placed on the throne.

Mahmud II tried to stop the period of collapse. He implemented reforms. However, the rebellion of Muhammad Ali of Egypt broke out this time. Muhammad Ali's armies had reached as far as Kütahya. Mahmud II managed to stop Muhammad Ali through diplomatic maneuvers.

However, he died of tuberculosis. His son Abdulmejid succeeded him. But while Mahmud II was on his deathbed, he kicked his son Abdulmejid. Because Mahmud II thought his son was not having him treated or was having him treated incorrectly in order to ascend the throne.

Throne struggles continued from father to son. Meanwhile, of course, the country was slipping away.

Abdulmejid, who sat on the throne, was of Western thought and was an innovator. The Edict of Tanzimat was proclaimed during his reign. However, the Crimean War broke his back. The economy was not good. He, too, began to borrow. He had palaces built to appear powerful both internally and externally.

However, he exaggerated this palace business, creating a second burden on the state.

When he died, Abdulaziz succeeded him. But he, too, was removed by a coup. His death was also painful. He was found dead in Feriye Palace with his wrists cut. Some said "he committed suicide," others said "it was murder." However, the cause could not be known.

When Abdulaziz was subjected to a palace coup and deposed, Murad V ascended the throne. However, his mental health was also impaired. He had already grown up in a cage. How could he be in his right mind?

He remained on the throne for only 93 days. When Abdul Hamid II succeeded him, he was sent back to house arrest, that is, to the cage.

Much has been said, written, and drawn about Abdul Hamid II. But Abdul Hamid also did not leave the palace. He was suspicious. He feared losing his throne. In the end, he was deposed as a result of the 31 March Incident. He was sent into exile in Thessaloniki.

Mehmed V Reşad was brought in his place. But he, too, was someone who had spent his life under house arrest. He had been locked in the Crown Prince's Apartment of Dolmabahçe Palace. After becoming Sultan, he went to Thessaloniki and Kosovo, and performed Friday prayers with hundreds of thousands.

He prayed a lot for the Balkans to remain in our hands. But these things did not happen with prayer. While the Balkans were slipping out of our hands, he was praying in the palace, reading the Masnavi, and feeding pigeons.

With his death, Vahdettin succeeded him.

By now, the Ottoman Empire was exhausted and had surrendered. Istanbul and Izmir were occupied, and Anatolia was on the verge of being lost. When Vahdettin saw this situation, he immediately surrendered to the British. He did not refrain from sacrificing Anatolia and the Turks in Anatolia for his throne. He even made a secret treason agreement with the British.

In conclusion;

The Ottoman Empire, which established dominion over vast lands of more than 16 million, perished at the hands of palace coups, intrigues, murders, assassinations, and incompetent sultans who grew up in cages.

While the Mehmetçik (Turkish soldiers) were shedding blood in the Balkans, Iraq, Yemen, the Caucasus, and the deserts of Africa, the sultans raised in cages were doing nothing but praying and feeding pigeons.

Until Vahdettin, including Vahdettin, the sultans always lived in pleasure and luxury with their concubines in their harems.

But the era had changed. The era of living in luxury in palaces on the backs of the nation was ending. It had to end. The world was in a state of change.

As the 19th century began, empires, dynasties, and palace sultanates in the world had come to an end, and authority had been taken from the palace and given to parliaments. In some places, a Constitutional Monarchy was declared, and in others, a Republic.

Nations and peoples were emerging as citizens and taking control of their own governance. From now on, they would govern themselves, not those in cages or those in palaces.

An Atatürk emerged from among the people.

He took the authority from the palace and returned it to the nation. He established the Parliament. People who grew up among the public became prime ministers, ministers, generals, and marshals. And they all became heroes.

Atatürk showed what could be achieved when the authority of governance lies with the nation by fighting, by casting the enemy into the sea, and by saving a nation and a homeland.

Atatürk knew that it was time for the form of government.

The Turkish Nation had to save not only its own homeland but also its destiny. It had to take authority into its own hands. Either systems similar to the sultanate in the Ottoman Empire would continue and the country would perish again, the successes achieved would be lost, or the authority of governance would be given to the people and the country would develop.

And this would happen with the Republic.

Atatürk did the latter. He declared the Republic by giving all governing authority to the people and the Turkish Nation. He ended the era of incompetent administrators who grew up in palace cages. The destiny of the nation could not be entrusted to incompetent people passing from father to son.

You know how we say, "Why was the Republic declared, was it declared early, was it declared late," etc. This was inevitable, my friend. It was necessary for the survival of the Turkish Nation.

The Republic was not born out of a necessity. It was born out of an obligation. Well, if you ask "Why was it born," here is the answer above. The Republic was an obligation, my friend. It was a necessity.

Otherwise, this nation would have perished at the hands of incompetent palace dwellers raised in cages.

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